


A Daughter

by veridanna



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, Pre-series - Egeria's birth., Tok'ra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 13:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6805726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veridanna/pseuds/veridanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Egeria's birth and first blending was not in the normal goa'uld way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Daughter

Amongst the goa’uld, breeding queens were rare; less than one in a hundred thousand larva were born with the peculiar twist in their genetic code that gave them the ability to control cellular division all the way to defining the DNA of each new cell – and therefore the ability create offspring from their own cells. But despite a queen’s instinctive, intuitive understanding of genetics, the twist that made them what they were remained elusively out of reach; on the one hand this was fortunate as it checked their numbers. On the other hand, it left the future of their species in the hands of raw, random chance. No queen could choose – or not choose – to spawn another queen.

Isis had not expected to spawn a second queen daughter. Her first, Astarte, had been taken as a primta and raised by that vicious favourite of Ra, Hathor - Isis would not permit her new daughter to be stolen so. To hide and protect her, Isis created a handful of new larva, imprinting on them a loyalty and selflessness that would transcend the native goa’uld fickle selfishness. It was difficult, exacting work to control each cell division so minutely; a normal spawn, where chance directed much of the genetic recombination for each larva, was a task of a bare second’s thought compared to the several months Isis laboured over each of her daughter’s future protectors.

The Jaffa priestesses selected to carry each of these precious primta were as loyal as Jaffa could be. Isis did not choose the highest in rank; such would be the first taken should Ra send his lieutenants to raid her temple. Instead, she selected the cleverest, the ones most likely to survive should the worst occur. The ones who knew when to hide and when to run. The ones best able to avoid Ra’s arrogant notice. Over the decade is took for the primta to mature, two were lost at the hands of Setesh. He had no idea of what he had done but Isis would never forgive or forget. Still, she stayed her hand – for now.

In the last year before her unique brood would need them, Isis gathered the candidates to become hosts. Appearance was a minor consideration; they would need to fit unremarked into the goa’uld society and for that, they had to meet a certain physical standard. Intelligence was important, as she had observed many times how a stupid host crippled a goa’uld’s potential. Loyalty would drive co-operation, freeing the goa’uld from wasting energy and time in constantly controlling and containing their host. Last of all, Isis wanted willingness, lest the host’s talents be turned against the goa’uld within. It took time, stolen from in between her other duties and pleasures, to find enough candidates and then more time again to teach them what they were to become and train them in various skills.

At last, the young queen was ready to emerge. The female host candidates were shown to her and the choice was made. Isis approved; Kellyn was pretty without being striking, average in height and exceptional in intelligence. Not wishing for a scar to mar the host’s form, she gently guided them to blend through the mouth, something that required a host to be co-operative but was less traumatic for both host and goa’uld. Once the queen had chosen and successfully blended, Isis let her rest while she presented the remaining candidates – male and female – to the rest of the brood, in order of age. Of the five, the first three all chose male hosts and the last two chose females. The remaining host candidates – another four males and seven females – would become their lo’tar.

When they were all awake, Isis was pleased when the five respectfully introduced themselves. _Selmak, Tyndar, Per’sus, Garshaw and Jolinar_. All suitable names for her daughter’s guardians. “And you, daughter? Did you wish me to name you?”

The new queen shook her head. “No, mother. I have made my own choice.”

Isis paused, studying her daughter thoughtfully and she was not entirely pleased by what she saw. The self-assurance, the confidence were proper, but the lack of any deference in her daughter’s tone or manner was troubling. “Indeed?”

“Yes, mother. I am Egeria.”

**Author's Note:**

> We're never given much detail about the founding of the Tok'ra, and why Egeria was different from other goa'uld. This was one possibility I came up with.  
> Isis is not Tok'ra herself but her rage and pain at having lost her first queen daughter, Astarte, to Ra and Hathor is a subconscious driver of how she influenced Egeria and created the 'protectors'. I have some unformed ideas and notes about how these events were also at the core of what got Isis, as a rare breeding queen, confined to a stasis jar.  
> The other question that was nagging at my mind when I wrote this was how the Tok'ra always seemed to have no real objectives besides taking down Ra and then the other System Lords. Selmak, etc. were created by Isis as /followers/ of Egeria and Egeria did the same when she spawned. Hence, without Egeria, they are blinkered. Intelligent enough not to be crippled by the loss, but still blinkered.


End file.
